Make a proposal that others will accept.

Recommend what you prefer and watch what happens when you do it mindfully.

There is a difference between recommending an idea for consideration or a product and showing your own unbridled enthusiasm for it.

Sometimes I receive emails or Facebook messages that begin with LOOK! or CHECK IT OUT!  What follows is a gush of description that captures the honest, excited feeling the writer had to a product or idea but there is no summary of the benefit of the product itself for me, the reader and targeted customer. 

 To effectively pitch a product there must be a benefit for the intended reader or customer, and the enthusiasm can lead them to it but it is not a substitute for it.

How do you know whether you are offering a cheerleader response or a considered evaluation of a product or idea whose strengths rests upon reasoning rather than an effusion of emotions?

Check your wording and the style of the sentence you use.

A description contains adjectives and exclamations points, often.

A recommendation built upon a summary always points out a benefit for the reader that makes logical or common sense. 

Here’s an example of a recommendation for a book.

Description:  There’s some rich content in it.  I loved it!!!!

Summary:  Dr. James Doty’s new book Inside the Magic Shop explores the dynamic of neuroplasticity  from a neurosurgeon’s perspective, reaching the unexpected conclusion that practicing compassion builds better mind muscles and creates a more harmonious lifestyle for people who understand this.

How to know if you are someone who writes descriptions rather than summaries with benefits just watch how long it takes you to write an excited description and how long it takes to write a summary with benefits.

Time to write:  It takes five seconds to write a description. It takes about two-minutes to write a summary.  

The big difference is that the first grows tiresome to people who confront and brush off spammy posts, emails, and recommendations; the second one builds trust and offers benefits to the reader who knows the difference between an emotional response and a well-conceived logical one.

If you are trying to build a rapport with a consumer base through social media or your email contact list, take the extra minute and a half to craft a summary rather than spout an exclamation that could also just as easily be represented by an emoji.  How often do you think long and hard about an emoji’s content?

That’s about as long and as focused as a reader will respond to your recommendation that is based on your excitement rather than benefits to be gained from the product you admire.

 Daphne Simpkins' most recent book is Christmas in Fountain City